Check your oxygen saturation levels

While there are many different health gadgets out there that you can currently use to monitor your health, one that very often gets completely overlooked is the pulse oximeter.

The pulse oximeter is important, especially for those who are suffering from an illness or just in a state of being unwell as it’s going to give you vital information about your health that you must pay attention to.

We have reviewed several models of pulse oximeters on this site, so if you want to skip straight to the reviews, here they are:

Let’s take a closer look into what a pulse oximeter is and how it’s going to help you improve your overall health standing.

What Is A Pulse Oximeter?

A pulse oximeter is a device that can either be handheld or attached to your finger for convenience that is going to take a measurement of how much oxygen is currently in your blood, commonly referred to as your oxygen saturation level. This refers to how many oxygen molecules are attached to the haemoglobin in the blood allowing for transport to the various cells in the body.

The pulse oximeter is going to allow you to quickly assess how much oxygen is getting to the various tissues of the body and also help to manage a number of different health conditions.

One haemoglobin molecule can carry up to four molecule of oxygen total, so if it was only carrying a total of two, this would represent a 50% saturation rate for that one haemoglobin molecule.

A normal person who is reasonably fit and healthy will have an oxygen saturation of about 95-99% and with regular fitness training as well as a balanced diet, you can increase these even higher, nearing the 100% mark.

Note that altitude also can change oxygen saturation which is a big reason why many athletes will train at altitude prior to competition if they plan to compete in an event their. The higher the altitude the less oxygen their blood will initially be able to carry so they may find they become fatigued much more quickly when performing in these conditions.

Since getting sufficient oxygen to your cells is a basic requirement for life, if you’re currently not getting enough oxygen or are at risk of not getting enough, immediately action must be taken.

A pulse oximeter is going to allow you to monitor the oxygen levels so that you can see when they do start to drop and when you should start seeking out medical help.

How A Pulse Oximeter Will Help You

While many people think that pulse oximeters are only for use in hospitals for those that are very ill, that’s not the case at all.

Pulse oximeters are the perfect device for those who are suffering from heart disease to use on a regular basis to assess the functioning of their heart and prevent any worsening of their condition.

If the heart is showing any irregularities this will be evident by the recording on the pulse oximeter, so it can help you sit up and take action sooner than if you hadn’t been using it.

In addition to that, some of those who are very serious about their athletic training and who are attempting to increase the oxygen utilization of their muscles throughout the intense workouts that they’re performing may consider using a pulse oximeter throughout their workout to check their current blood-oxygen level.

How To Use A Pulse Oximeter

To properly use a pulse oximeter, if you’re using a finger pulse oximeter you will simply place the finger tip inside the clip and turn the pulse oximeter on so it can take down the information that you need.

If you’re using a handheld oximeter than you’ll complete a very similar process only this time the information delivered to you will come from the hand-held device while you still place the clip over the finger tip or over the earlobe if you prefer (you need thin skin for it to register properly).

So if you’re serious about improving your state of wellness and are currently suffering from any ventilation or heart problems, then investing in a high quality pulse oximeter will be a very wise decision to make.

Andy writes for a number of health related sites but has always been fascinated by alternative medicine and home remedies. His deep interests in nature and the body's innate ability to heal itself (given the right condition) have lead him to a pivotal time in his life - and so, Holistic Home Fitness was born. While it's relatively new at the moment, Andy wants to build this site into a huge reference site for a more holistic approach to health and fitness.

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